National Newspaper Association

Capital Gazette: How to help after Annapolis shooting

August 14, 2018

The owner of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis announced the creation of a fund for the families, victims and survivors of the mass shooting in the newspaper’s office, as well as a memorial scholarship fund at the University of Maryland, College Park.The Capital Gazette Families Fund is being managed through the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County, owner Tronc announced. The Michael and Jacky Ferro Family Foundation will match up to $1 million in donations. Tronc is the parent company of The Baltimore Sun Media Group, which includes the Capital.The fund will provide immediate relief and long-term recovery support to employees and immediate family members of employees of the Capital Gazette, as well as to employees across the company who have been directly affected by tragedy. Grants can be applied to grief and trauma counseling, medical expenses not covered by insurance, funeral expenses, and other associated expenses and services.Tronc Chief Executive Officer and Chair Justin Dearborn, said the victims would forever be remembered as “outstanding people and journalists who we will continue to honor.”“Yesterday was an incredibly tragic day for our colleagues in Annapolis—a tragedy felt deeply by all of us at our papers across the country,” Dearborn wrote in a letter to the company. “Our hearts go out to the families, friends and coworkers of Gerald Fischman, Robert Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters, who died Thursday in the shooting at the Capital Gazette.”In addition to the family fund, a Capital Gazette Memorial Scholarship Fund has been created to provide an annual award for select students pursuing a degree in journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park.The fund celebrates the lives of Gerald Fischman and John McNamara, who were alumni of the University; Robert Hiaasen, a lecturer in Journalism at the University; Wendi Winters, a reporter at the Capital Gazette; and Rebecca Smith, who worked on the Capital Gazette sales team.

Capital Gazette Families FundThe Capital Gazette Families Fund will be run by the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County, a local foundation in Annapolis. The Michael and Jacky Ferro Family Foundation will match up to $1 million in donations, Tronc said in a statement. The URL to the site is cfaac.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create?setc=1&funit_id=1152.

Capital GazetteMemorial Scholarship FundA Capital Gazette Memorial Scholarship Fund has been created to provide an annual award for select students pursuing a degree in journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. Three of the victims who died in the attack had ties to the university—Hiaasen was a lecturer in the journalism college, and Fischman and McNamara were alumni. Dearborn, said the victims would forever be remembered as “outstanding people and journalists who we will continue to honor.”URL to the site is cfaac.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create?setc=1&funit_id=1153.

SPJ First Amendment T-shirtsThe Society of Professional Journalists is selling First Amendment T-shirts for $20 on its website. All proceeds will be donated to the Capital Gazette. That URL is located at spj.org/tshirts.asp/.

GoFundMeBloomberg Government reporter Madi Alexander launched a GoFundMe for the newsroom, which had raised more than $188,000 of its $200,000 goal as of presstime.